Warning: I happen to use a few strong words in this chapter. I don't think I've used a couple of them, before. I probably won't use them again, either. So... *shrug* Anyway, little warning for you.

I don't own BTVS or Angel and, no matter how much I beg, Joss just won't hand 'em over. I don't own any of the characters in this story and the more I beg... the more pathetic I look. I love you, I love you, I love you! I love you, because you tolerate me and act like you enjoy it. (That was a compliment, I swear.) Oh, and I had someone ask why Lindsey's hand was callused..... Have you ever met a guitarist? Calluses are what make it painless to play. Plus, I figure Lindsey may be doing odd jobs, to keep busy. *shrug* Why not? Anyway, Joss is Super Ultra Lord and I am that dorky kid off of Jimmy Neutron. Yup! I swear it! *crosses finger over heart* We just wear really good costumes. Hey, Nickelodeon can afford the best. Anyway...

On with the show.

::Carpe Diem- A Kind Of Magic::

Lindsey blinked, slowly, and tried focusing on the chair leg, next to his head. "Am I on the floor?" He thought out loud, not really expecting an answer. His head hurt and he was pretty sure his neck was screwed on backwards. "Hello?" He called out. "Angel?"

"No. It would only be me." Spike had been keeping watch over the man. He thought it was downright rude to be knocking the guy out, before he had a chance to explain himself, but there was really nothing he could do about it. It was Angel's home, after all. "You'll be wanting some Tylenol, then?"

"Hell, yes." Lindsey squirmed and realized that his hands were held, tightly, behind his back. "Your sire..... He's one kinked out fuck, isn't he?"

Spike walked over to the bureau and picked up a bottle, examining the wrapper. He had to check the dosage. Wouldn't want to kill the guy, in spite of everything. "I suppose. It would depend on who you were asking."

Lindsey became still and tried a few breathing exercises that he remembered from a relaxation seminar, during his Wolfram and Hart days. "I'm asking you." He continued, after his heart rate went down a notch.

Spike noted the quickened heartbeat and sighed. He could almost feel the pulse, as if it were his very own, thrumming in his ears and through his veins. "Want Tylenol or do you prefer Advil? I'm sure we have both around here, somewhere. How about some Aspirin? I'm not liking that erratic heartbeat, you got going."

"Me neither. Give me whatever you've got." Lindsey spit. He had a horrible taste in his mouth and it was about as dry as Angel's sense of humor, at the moment.

"I'll get you some water to take it with. You'll never be able to swallow it, in that condition." Spike walked into the bathroom and turned on the faucet. He picked up a small drinking glass, on the sink, and rinsed it out, before filling it with water and taking it to Lindsey. He had the glass and a few pills clutched in his left hand. With the other hand, he lifted Lindsey to a sitting position and checked his eyes. "You don't have a concussion. Although, as hard as Angel hit you, I'd say you should. Someone got a charm on you?"

"Not that I know of. Maybe the Devil's just trying to take care of his own." Lindsey tried to make a scowl, as Spike forced his mouth open and dropped the pills inside. Was he a prisoner or a puppy? Was there a difference to vampires?

"Drink the water." Spike was about ready to just let the man choke on the pills and be done with it. Spike sighed, when he realized his hostage was drifting off, somewhere else. "What is it, with LA? Everybody becomes all bloody introspective and broody! You're tied up man!" Spike pulled Lindsey up, by the hair, so that he was almost standing. "You should be spittin' and kickin' and bitin' at me with those wimpy teeth you got there!"

Lindsey smirked and shook his head. He spit the Tylenol out, at Spike's feet, and grinned. "Looks like Angel's not the only kinked out guy, around here."

Spike grunted and sneered. Lindsey was right about one thing. This whole situation was one big fuck-over. He was supposed to be saving damsels in distress. He was supposed to be massacring the mass population. One or the other. No in between, ta. He dropped the man, unceremoniously, on the bed and bent down to pick up the discard medicine.

Lindsey hated the feeling of falling. At least, when he was tied up. He couldn't catch himself, when he hit bottom. He squirmed around, on his back, his own hands pressing in on his spine. A horrifying thought occurred, right about that moment. "Katie! Where's Katie?"

Spike jumped, when he heard the man's terrified shriek. Some things didn't change, after all. There was always one woman out there, for every guy, who could be the life or the death of him. "Calm down. She's fine. A little sedated, since she almost gave me such a nasty little sunburn, but she's fine, all the same. Where did you find her?"

Lindsey wasn't paying attention to Spike's line of meaningless conversation. He needed to know some things. "What time is it? It may be too late!" Lindsey pulled at his bonds and succeeded in chafing his wrists.

Spike sighed, as he watched the man fight his bonds, in vain. "Stop squirming or you'll bleed on the fabric. Those ropes were made to hog-tie Hefner. I don't think you'll be getting away."



Lindsey became still and sighed. "Don't you mean heifers?"

"What?" Spike asked clearly confused.

"Heifers? You said 'hog-tie Hefner'. Didn't you mean heifers?"

Spike scowled. "I mean what I bloody well said, but if you prefer....." Spike shrugged. "Hog-tie heifers, it is."

Lindsey groaned and let out a strangled scream. "This is stupid. I need to save Andy!"

"Gods, you've got a lot of spunk and very little train of thought." Spike sat on the bed, next to Lindsey, and pressed the man's shoulder down into the mattress, to still him. "Now, you are going to take these pills and drink this water and then I'm going to untie you. Got it?"

Lindsey almost thought it was a lie, a vicious joke being played by, yet another enemy on a very long list. He decided to just take his medicine and hope for the best. He opened his mouth and accepted the little white pills. Then, he took a gulp of the water that was offered to him and washed them down.

Spike put down the cup and, in one fluid motion, flipped Lindsey over on to his stomach. He started, systematically, untying the bonds, until the other man was 'free'. "It'd be smart of you, not to try and run."

Lindsey turned himself, until he was sitting upright, and rubbed his raw wrists. "What time is it?" He asked calmly.

"Son las cuatro menos cuarto." Spike grinned at the young man, who sat there confused and, more than a little, mussed up. "It's a quarter to four."

Lindsey just nodded and ran his fingers through his hair. "I still have time. I need Katie."

"First off, you got to spill your guts." Spike hurried to clear up his comment, when he saw the man turn, noticeably, pale. "What I mean to say is, you need to tell all and tell now. Angel seems to think you may have something to do with his whole werewolf kidnapping thing." Spike noted the way that Lindsey had tensed up and nodded slowly. "He thinks you're a dangerous chap, but you and I know different, don't we?" Spike shoved Lindsey's shoulder, in one of those macho 'let's be buds' sort of way and put on a fake grin.

Lindsey took a shaky breath and feigned a grin, of his own. "Yeah....."

"Good." Spike got up from his seat, on the bed, and walked over to the dresser. He picked up an envelope and threw it on the mattress, in front of Lindsey. "Tell me about those pictures, will you?"

Lindsey opened the envelope, slowly, and peered inside. Nothing jumped out at him, so he figured he was safe. He pulled the contents out and realized how wrong he was. "Oh, shit."

Spike nodded. "That's some of the stuff that we pulled up on your girlfriend in just the last half hour. Angel has friends in many weird places. Apparently, he's bestest friends with a few well-informed, informers over in Louisiana. Did you know that they did those sort of things with chickens?"

Lindsey swallowed, as he shuffled through the pictures. He knew, but he had never seen. "She doesn't do this, anymore." Lindsey put the pictures down, glossy side facing the bed. He looked up at Spike and met eyes with the blonde vampire. "She was young. She's changed."

"Perhaps." Spike shrugged, as he paced at the foot of the bed. He stopped and turned toward Lindsey. "But those sort of things don't just leave your personality, altogether. Trust me on that. They will always be a part of her." Spike stopped to think, for a moment. "Do you know what they do to werewolves, down there?"

Lindsey jumped up from his place on the bed and threw a punch, at his captor. His right fist made a direct connection with Spike's jaw, but his left was caught before it could hit his abdomen. Spike twisted Lindsey's arm, until he had it pinned in between the man's shoulder blades. Spike pushed Lindsey forward, making the man trip and fall face forward into the bed. Lindsey shrieked and kicked, but to no avail. He was trapped. Lindsey turned his head to the side so he could breath again. "You prick!"

"How did I get here?" Spike wondered, aloud. Spike pushed in on Lindsey's arm, making him wince with discomfort. "In the words of Drusilla, 'you're a naughty boy.' In the words of me....." Spike pushed in on Lindsey's arm, when he started to squirm again. ".....I am going to kill you, if you ever do that again. Do you hear me?"

Lindsey stopped moving and nodded, slowly.

"Good." Spike let his grip loosen, on the man's arm and then got up from the bed. Lindsey lay, unmoving, as Spike took a step backward. "You know, there was a time when I didn't give second chances. Your lucky I've become so accommodating." Spike watched Lindsey, thoughtfully, as he rubbed his sore jaw. He could almost see the gears turning, in the young man's head. "You hit like a girl." Lindsey flipped over on his back and gave Spike a disbelieving look. Spike just shrugged. "I just thought you should know."

Lindsey sighed. "I love her."

"You must." Spike agreed. "Love makes blokes like you and me, do stupid things."

"You and me? I would hardly say that we are comparable in any way." Lindsey looked around the room in search of a clock and sighed when he found none.

Spike shrugged, again. "Both of us are plagued by my sire, no matter which way we turn. Both of us pretend it bothers us, but, in all honesty, he's a good way to pass the time." Spike paused and gave Lindsey a threatening glare. "You ever tell him I said that and I'll rip your throat out. I've had my pride a hell of a lot longer, than I've had my soul and I will not have it sullied." Spike waited for Lindsey to give some sort of indication that he understood and then he moved on. "We both have fallen in love with women, who were not the best of choices....." Spike drifted off. "I think we have lots in common."

Lindsey nodded. He wasn't really sure that he accepted Spike's train of thought, but he did know one thing. If Spike were behind him, in this, he would have more pull over Angel. "I'll tell you everything." Lindsey decided. "But first..... I have a plan and it's really stupid, but if we pull it off, it will save Andy."

"Well, let's have it then." Spike grinned and took a seat, next to Lindsey. "Stupid plans are what I do best."

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Connor watched Gunn, as he sat on the couch, shining the silver off of one of Angel's favorite broad swords. "The yelling stopped." Connor saw the way Gunn flinched and he knew, immediately, that the man must have jumped to the worst implications in that comment. "Spike wouldn't....." Connor trailed off and sighed.

Gunn looked up and saw the desolate look that stole across Connor's face. "Naw....." Gunn forced a smile. "He's just gagged 'im or something." Gunn put down the sword and the cloth that he had been polishing with. He got up and walked over to where Connor was standing at the desk. He pulled himself up and sat on the surface, crumpling the papers covering it, as he did. "Or maybe he's doing that vampire thing."

"Sucking his blood, until he's dead?" Connor asked dryly.

Gunn rolled his eyes and flicked his hand, in a 'yeah right' sort of way. "No, I'm talking about..... You know, Dracula stuff."

If it was possible, Connor looked even less amused. "Who?"

Gunn's mouth dropped open. "You don't know who Dracula is?"

"Well, I can tell you that he never visited Quor-toth." Connor looked thoughtful, for a moment. "I think I might have seen a movie about this Dr....."

"Dracula." Gunn filled in. "He could hypnotize people with his mind and practically make them want to get eaten."

Connor groaned and pushed himself away from the desk. "I think I'll go cook something."

Gunn leaned back on his elbows and watched the boy make his trip to the kitchen. I'll never get the knack for this 'family', he mused. "Try for Teriyaki. That stuff is Heaven on a plate!"

"Bite me!"

Gunn chuckled and got down from his seat, on the desk. He walked back over to the couch and picked up his polishing cloth and the sword. He took a good look at the blade and sighed. The thing didn't really need polishing to begin with, so it really didn't need it, now.

A shriek broke the silence of the lobby. "What is going on here!?"

"Cordelia." Gunn turned toward the door and smiled. "We had a party."

Cordelia paced around the lobby, a look of consternation spread across her features. "The windows?"

Gunn nodded and put down the sword. "Voodoo priestess."

"Do they have priestesses?" Cordelia asked, as she bent down to pick up a shard of glass.

Gunn shrugged. "I'm not sure on the details. Angel is upstairs with her."

Cordelia looked around the room and sighed. "This will be lots of work and lots of money. Good thing the curtains were closed."

Gun laughed, half-heartedly. "Yeah, they were, but it seems that little Miss Magic yanked them down."

Corelia screwed up her nose and shook her head. "Spooky."

Gunn nodded, in agreement. "She didn't look like she had that kind of power, but when she saw Lindsey go down, it was like something snapped inside of her."

Cordelia turned a glare on Gunn and stalked toward him. "When she saw who go down?"

Gunn's eyes went round and his jaw dropped. "Umm..... Lindsey?"

Cordelia nodded, slowly, taking it all in. "Let me guess. This was all Angel's idea?" Cordelia didn't wait for an answer. She didn't really need one. "This better not be another macho pissing contest, between them. If it is, I swear that I'll pack up Fred and my bags and we'll be on our way to San Francisco. See, guy there, I can understand. We're on the same wavelength." Cordelia stopped her erratic arm waving and pacing. "Did you even finish up that case, you were on?"

Gunn shook his head. "This *is* the werewolf case."

Connor had been watching the scene from the kitchen doorway. Cordelia was no less animated, than he could remember. She was different, though. She's a little airy, but very smart, he decided. She was also starring at him, stare at her.

"What?" She asked with a small, sad smile.

She always looks like she pities me, Connor thought. He just decided to ignore it, along with the other fifty-some-odd things, he ignored around The Hyperion. "I made cookies, but they're all gone."

"Really? Were they that good?" Cordelia asked with a grin.

No pity there, Connor noted.

"Nobody knows." Gunn was grumbling. "He wouldn't let anybody try them."

"I let Angel have one. He said he forgot what chocolate taste like." Connor grinned. "He said it was like tasting it for the first time and realizing it was his favorite food all over again."

"Well, your dad must have been talking about when he was human cause....." Everyone looked up at the stairwell, toward the voice. "..... he didn't eat human food, when I knew him best. He ate *human* food, but not human food." Spike gave the crowd a grin and shrugged. "What?"

"Why is Lindsey standing behind you?" Gunn asked, with a scowl.

"Because he doesn't want you to take a swing at him and mess up his pretty face." Spike stated, with an oh-so-serious voice.

"Well, he better watch out behind him." Connor nodded up the stairs. "Cause dad looks pissed."

Spike turned to find his sire, leaning on the banister, only a foot behind them. "Angelus!" He said, with a smile.

"Not technically." Angel smiled, wickedly. "But I'm pretty sure he's pissed off too."

Lindsey edged himself backward, until Spike took the initiative and stepped in front of him. Spike sighed and pushed the man back, in the direction of all that was safe and human. "Sire, we need to talk."

"About what?" Angel was rubbing his temples. He could almost feel a tension headache building up. Vampires weren't supposed to get tension headaches. They were dead. They were supposed to be physically incapable of getting tense.

Spike took a hold of his sire's arm and dragged him toward the office. "This guy, Lindsey." Spike's grin grew wider, as he continued. "I don't know if you know it, yet, but he's an effin genius."

TBC

- Hey guys..... You'll have to forgive me. I couldn't help tying Lindsey up. Heh..... *looks around guiltily and digs toe in the sand* Hey! *looks around and tries to figure out where sand came from* Ugh..... Anyway, I hope this chapter was long enough (I doubt it is.). It took me long enough to put out, that's for sure (I couldn't help it). Oh and Lul... I have one comment for your review. I sympathize with your plight. It's just that I've had so many beg me to keep it slashless. So, I've decided to keep it indeterminate. I have to please the masses (to a certain extent) or I don't have an audience. By the by, you are all a bunch of sweethearts. Please keep the review comin'.-

--The subtitle was 'A Kind of Magic' which is a really good CD, by Queen. If you like the music off of Highlander, you'll like this CD.--